The Clintons and Kennedys may be the most well known Democratic dynasties, but the Bronx has plenty of its own.
Last week I wrote about José E. Serrano’s efforts to raise money for the Bronx Zoo to do cleanup at the Bronx River. I noted that his son, New York State Senator José M. Serrano is Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation – and an advocate for the zoo. That wasn’t to suggest that the Congressman was acting out of nepotism, (he’s got as good of a voting record as you can get on environmental issues). But in the Bronx it’s always worth considering, because here, politics is a family affair.
Let’s see what other family ties we can find in the Bronx Democratic Party.
José Rivera is a good place to start. This Democratic Party Boss represents the Kingsbridge Heights and surrounding areas of the Bronx in the New York State Assembly. He joined the Assembly in 1982 but in 1987 he left to represent a similar slice of the Bronx – the 15th Council District – on the City Council. That seat went to his son, Joel Rivera, when he returned to the State Assembly in 2000. But Rivera isn’t lacking for family in the Assembly. In 2004 his daughter Naomi Rivera was elected to the Assembly to represent the Norwood and Pelham areas of the Bronx. (Note: Assemblyman Peter Rivera of the Bronx is related to these three Riveras only by party and borough).
At 36 years old, the newish Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., is a rising star in the party. He started his political career in 1996 in the New York State Assembly, representing the Soundview section of the Bronx. His father, Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr., joined the New York State Senate in 2002 to represent the South Bronx, after a year on the City Council. The Borough President has brothers in the NYPD and New York City Housing Authority as well.
New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. is part of the Bronx family, (though it took an investigation by the Bronx District Attorney to get him to spend any time at his residence in the borough). His brother, Jose Espada, once ran for the State Assembly, but District Leader was the highest office he ever got. Senator Espada’s son, Pedro G. Espada, on the other hand, had a brief career on the State Senate in the late 1990s. Last year, after a stint as a City Councilman and a few years working for his father’s controversial Soundview Healthcare Network, the younger Espada got a plush $120 thousand job as Senate Deputy Director for Intergovernmental Relations. However, he had to quit after a week, when accusations arose that he was hired as favor to his father for returning to the Democratic Party.
The Bronx Rouge’s Gallery – er Family Tree – wouldn’t be complete without the Arroyos. Carmen E. Arroyo has been serving the 84th Assembly District for the Bronx since 1994. In 2005 her daughter, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, was elected to represent Pedro G. Espada’s old 17th City Council District in the Bronx. Last summer, Richard Izquierdo Arroyo – the Assemblywoman’s grandson, and nephew of the City Councilwoman – was charged this summer with embezzling over $200 thousand from a nonprofit, SBCC Management Corporation, that he managed. Among the charges are that the nonprofit was used as a slush fund for such activities as buying plane tickets to Puerto Rico for the three Arroyos.
And it’s not over yet. This week former State Senator Efrain Gonzalez’s son, Carlos Gonzalez, said he is raising money to run for office in the Bronx. The Elder Gonzalez recently withdrew a guilty plea he had offered in another Bronx slush fund case. Depending on what office his is thinking of running for though, he’d be running against either Pedro Espada or Jose Rivera, according to The Daily News. Either way, he’ll be challenging not just a candidate, but also a well-entrenched political family.
“Follow the money,” was the suggestion that Deep Throat gave Woodward and Bernstein for their investigative reporting in Washington D.C. In the Bronx, he might have said, “Follow the family tree.”